Save me from me
by Kram021
Summary: The day of the final battle left Aang hurt and alone, in more ways that one. Six years later, when the world demands that he saves them from destruction and chaos once again, he is inevitably paired with the girl who left him behind. Kataang-Ch 6 added!
1. Prologue

**PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE GOING TO THE STORY:**

okay! Now to prevent any confusion like my other story...I will now explain what the hell is going on. First off, sorry for the rather dry intro...can't really do anything about it, but it is **very important** to the whole plot. Don't worry it gets better later on, I promise. Also...I'm probably not going to update it often because of school and the fact that I have two better stories waiting and I'm just itching to start those two. I know the names seem kind of...odd but they are actual Chinese names. **I will explain the groups and the Katara/Aang situation later on in the story!!**Yes the title is from Amber Pacific...And no there is not going to be two avatars fighting to the death. The title basically represents the internal conflict within Aang. Other than that...enjoy the story.

**Also...Aang isn't goin going to save the world by producing more airbenders, he actually has to save them from real danger... It will be known later on.**

P.S. Reviews are very much appreciated! Tell me your opinion! Is it too long, too detailed, etc! Any spelling corrections are also appreciated.

**Also:**if you know any good Harry Potter fics (Harry/Hermione only plz) tell me through pming me/review! Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar...sorry to disappoint you

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The room was dark and depressing, the windows shut closed to the outside world preventing any of the sun's beautiful rays to permeate into the room. The only source of light was a dinky little lantern placed in the center of the room on a large, rectangular mahogany table. There were three seats, one on each end and one in the middle. A typical Fire Nation meeting room. Not that the three sole occupants cared about this gloomy look, no they cared about more pressing matters. None were interested in the looks of the Fire nation anyways, most of the lands still burnt from the legendary battle of the Avatar and Fire Lord Ozai. No one cared about the lands…no one had the money to fix the lands. No they only cared about a file now spread opened on the table, the contents only to be seen by these three men alone. Three of the most important men, minus the Avatar and his friends, who hail from the three separate nations. They had only arrived yesterday, but all were twitching with anticipation on the important news. They each took their perspective seats.

Xun was located at the right end of the large table. He became the new Earth King just one year after the war had ended after the old one retired. A harsh and impatient, yet kind and compassionate man made him one of the most respected man in the Earth kingdom yet most despised man in the rest of the nations. He was able to get rid of the corrupt Dai Lee and restore most of the damage done from a hundred years of war. He was in his mid-50s, but his wisdom and temper goes beyond any elder. His hair was cut short and his face was almost as flat as a pancake and his hair as mahogany as the table.

Chang was located directly opposite to Xun. He was the new Chief of the water tribes, after the old one was murdered by P.L.S or the Phoenix's Loyal Servants , a terrorist group that was just recently formed. A calm and passive man, he was able to create peace and agreement between all the nations. Although in his 70s, his wit and agility surpasses all but the Avatar, his face always masked with indifference, his hair tied up in the traditional wolf's tail, his eyes a brilliant cerulean, and his hair gray.

He-ping was located at the center of the table, his bare looks radiated with power. He was the minister for foreign affairs as well as in charge of P.A.H or the Protectors of Airbender History. His job is to ensure balance in all of the nations. Slow and patient, he always took months to formulate plans but they were almost infallible. His nature earned him a place in Fire Lord Zuko's council. Still in his early 60s, his hair was raven-black, his eyes dark brown, and his nose, hooked-shape.

He-ping slowly entered the room, with the other two already seated, and took his seat in the center. He acknowledged the two with a simple nod and spoke in a strong, confident voice.

"Now," He-Ping started, "You may be wondering why I called this meeting…Well-"

Xun interrupted, his voice practically booming through out the room. "Yes we do! Its not everyday we get a call to come to this…this..." Xun looked around the room in disgust. "Hell, it doesn't even deserve to be called a room."

Even though Chang said nothing, his eyes gave his curiosity away before returning back to its indifferent state.

He-ping chuckled softly, he knew that Xun could care less about the room's appearance, he was only looking for a object to channel his anxiety to.

"Calm down Xun…I'm getting to it…Now as you all know the air nomads have been dead for around one hundred years with only one of their kind still alive, the Avatara." He paused to pull a sheet full of data out of the classified folder. "Unfortunately, this…problem seems to cause unforeseen effects to-"

"What?! Effects?! Damn it! What kind of effects?! I've never seen any effects?!" Xun yelled in a sudden outburst of anger and trepidation, these kinds of things would ruin their already fragile economy. "Give me that!" Xun snatched the data out of He-ping's hands and briefly scanned over it. After doing so, he looked up, obviously shocked and wordlessly handed it over to Chang.

"Tornados…Hurricanes…Volcanoes…Blizzards…Spirit sightings" Chang mumbled aloud. "This…unbalance is causing a huge increase in the tendency in all of these things?"

He-ping nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately…well at least that's what the public is saying."

"Well how do you know the damn public is right?! It could just be a bunch of idiots running around and spreading rumors! I thought the damn world was safe after the Avatar defeated the Fire Lord six years ago!" Xun yelled, clearly irritated, his hand slamming hard down onto the table, causing He-ping to flinch in shock.

"The public isn't just a bunch of idiots; they have first-hand experience on these events, disasters particular. They wouldn't report these things if they didn't feel threatened in some way. They would know changes, especially farmers and fishermen because their business depends on the weather…anyways I've notice a change in the aura in the air about two years back. I'm sure that's when these reports started coming in, yes?" Chang stated calmly, yet his brain was already calculating the consequences of this problem.

"Well said…and yes." He-ping said, surprised that Chang could sense the change in aura and even more surprised that Chang didn't say anything about it. "Now I have a theory on why this is happening….the spirits are obviously angry and we are losing their favor…I'm afraid they are replacing us or recreating us…or something else. Either way, at the rate of these effects, we have about three years till every human is wiped off of this world. Then…well it doesn't matter then."

Both of the occupants openly gaped at him, Chang had even forgone his mask of indifference.

"W-What?! W-why….How?!" Xun stammered out.

"I don't know, but we must get the Avatar to have a child." He-ping said, a stern look on his face.

"Well then that's easy, just get the fucking Avatar to have sex and we'll be done!" Xun yelled, though his face seemed to relax.

"I'm sure th-" He-ping started while blushing.

"See! It's perfect! I don't even know why you called us! I'm sure the Avatar would be more than happy to have sex! Hell, I would! I'm sure half of the world would-"

"SHUT UP!" He-ping yelled as he practically jumped out of his chair and slammed his fist on the table, his legendary patience wearing thin. He-ping sighed, sat down and slowly rubbed his temples. Xun is one of the few people who could get on He-ping's nerves.

Xun obviously surprised, shut his mouth as fast as he could, accidently biting on his tongue and drew blood, but he was too shocked to even feel the pain.

"Listen…If it was as easy as that would I even call you?!" He-ping pulled out another sheet out of the folder; this one looked very old and delicate. "According to legend, an airbender can only be…produced if the love is pure **only**."

Chang spoke out before Xun could yell again. "Well it could only just be that, a legend, and I'm sure the Avatar must love someone."

He-ping paused, not sure how to answer. After several minutes of painful silence, he spoke. "You may be right, but I don't want to take a risk, according to legend, if the Avatar has sex with someone he is not in love with or out of lust, he can no longer produce airbenders. As for your second question, I've already tried to hook the Avatar with almost every girl in the world…and it was a pretty subtle hook up if I might say." He-ping sighed and rested his head on his hands. "I'm afraid that the Avatar has gone into a state of seclusion."

"Why?" Chang asked simply.

"I'm not too sure…but intelligence shows that this girl is the source of our problems." He-ping said while pulling out a portrait of a smiling Katara, who was sitting on a chair posing for the painter. Chang studied the picture closely, he silently admitted that the girl was beautiful with her smooth, long, mahogany hair, her perfect, tan, skin, and her stunning cerulean eyes which mimicked the ocean in every way….or maybe the ocean was mimicking her.

'_I know her…from somewhere'_ Chang though, examining her more closely, then it hit him.

"That is one of the Avatar's companions…Katara I think…yes, yes I remember her from my visits to the South Pole. Why is she a problem? I thought she and the Avatar were close friends."

"We don't know exactly…but the day they went their separate ways was the day the Avatar lost all interest in life itself…that was six years ago and look at the Avatar…still moping…"

"I see…well I have connections in the Southern water tribe that could ensure that…Katara could come over here and we could explain the situation maybe?" Chang stated.

"No, if she knew she might disagree, from her file it said she hated arranged marriages and that is basically what we are doing to the Avatar. No, we must be as discrete as possible in order to assure pure love instead of a forced one…preferably Katara becomes friends with the Avatar again and Aang become all happy again and finds love. If he falls in love with Katara, then it is better…cuts the time to find more girls to fit the Avatar."

"Fine…I'll get right on it." Chang said, while already starting to write the scroll for a certain friend of his.

"Good….remember, do whatever it takes to get Katara and the Avatar back together…as friends or as lovers." He-ping said while standing up, indicating that this meeting was over.

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Yay! first chapter done! I know...very boring really...But it **WILL** get better! Sorry about the change in tenses...I've corrected most of them... if you find any errors help me out! When I say it won't be updated often...well I'll update it within the month...maybe

REVIEW PLZ! PLZ...plz?


	2. Plans, Regrets, and Favors

**Before Reading the Actual story:**

I'm pretty impressed by how many people actually like this story...I actually thought that you guys would like my other story The second chance a lot better...maybe I should write a draft more often. Also...there are more people who put this story on their favorites than my first story...kind of creepy. You guys aren't using reverse psychology on me are you?

Anyways: This chapter can be confusing so let me break it up for you. One: the person says what do they tell Chang because they think Katara is crazy basically and (in a different chapter you will learn) can be very violent. IE-the incident. Two- YES Katara did make the decision to leave Aang for reasons unknown for now. **Third**- sorry about the depressed/weird Katara but if you left your best friend for some stupid reason and you had absolutely no one left, you would be depressed also.

Finally: **THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT**- I need someone to basically bug to see if an idea is good or not. Forgot to thank coolmac for letting me ask him questions for plot. Not all at once...lol. Seriously I can come up with a stupid idea and a great idea and I won't be able to tell the difference.

Sorry if this chapter isn't what you expected...I seriously had to make stuff up as I went. I didn't think I would get this far with the story. If you hate something- Review or pm me.

**OKAY!-** sorry for the deleted story but as timisnotmyname pointed out...it looked exactly like the Earth Kingdom Generals (you know with the big five council of five) I seriously didn't know I was copying the idea...creepy isn't it. Anyways I also made the leader of the southern water tribe an awsome guy instead of a bunch of idiots. YAY!

AND YES- Bao is actually from the Southern Water Tribe...

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Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away from the almost scandalous meeting, the sun had just started to rise, bombarding the small southern water tribe with brilliant rays of light. Well…the water tribe wasn't exactly small anymore, ton of people had immigrated after the war and had constructed hundreds of buildings to accommodate the growing population. At the center of it all, a huge statue of the Avatar, carved completely out of ice. Behind this was the governmental building, much like their sister tribe's, it was made completely out of ice and had the water tribe symbol at the top. There were lots of steps, fifty-one to be exact, leading up to a huge gateway guarded by twenty watchmen. Even though the war was over, there were still trouble from the spirits and terrorists. If one could get past all of these defenses, one would see a huge chamber filled with hundreds of doors. Down at the end of the hall, was the most important room of them all, the meeting room. There they discussed changes, laws, taxes, etc. There was only one table, which was raised up so that the visitors would have to look up while the "important people" can look down at them.

Just at this moment, the Chief of the Southern water tribe was meeting with a messenger from the Fire Nation, who had just arrived minutes ago. Across the room was, what the messenger said, was an eelhound.

"Forgive my unannounced appearance Bao." The messenger said while bowing low.

"What is your name?" The tribe leader named Bao asked.

"Shan sir." Shan said, finally standing up.

"What is your business here?" Bao snapped, he had better things to do that converse with a messenger.

"I bring news from Chang, chief of the water tribes. He requests a favor."

"Go on." Bao rested his chin on his hands, this could work towards his advantage. After all it was a favor for a favor and a favor from the chief of both water tribes can come in handy.

"He asks that you send the girl named Katara to the Fire Nation."

_'Well…there goes my favor…'_ Bao thought to himself. Even though he was elected for his cunning and intelligence by the people, even he couldn't get Katara out of the southern water tribe and he had known Katara since she was four.

"May I ask why?"

"Of course, she is wanted as help for the Avatar's quest."

_'Quest? Who the hell says quest anymore?'_ Bao thought.

"Well…there is an implication in your little plan, N-"

"Listen…I'm sorry if it takes too much of your time doing this, but it is crucial for life itself! You will either convince or trick her into going to the Earth Kingdom. You will send her to this location and that is where she will be briefed for her mission and that is where she will be staying." Shang said while tossing a piece of paper up onto the table. With that, he bowed once again and turned to mount his eelhound. Without another word, he left with a dash.

Bao slowly opened the paper and, after reading the location, slammed it face down on the table with a thump. He kneaded the bridge of his nose, clearly stressed.

"What the hell am I going to do?" Bao said to himself.

--

"Good morning Aang." Katara said cheerfully, as she had done every day since the war had ended. She slowly opened her cerulean eyes and pushed the covers off of herself.

She sighed as she sat up from her bed and picked up the picture of Aang.

_'If only you were real.'_ She thought as she ran a hand across the picture. She knew that she looked like an idiot talking to a picture, but she didn't care. She barely cared about anything anymore especially what others thought of her.

"Come on and get dressed Katara! You're going to be late!" Sokka yelled.

Katara rolled her eyes, ever since Katara fell into seclusion, Sokka had insisted in applying her for ever single job in the city. He silently hoped that work would help keep her mind off of whatever it was that was bothering her, but to his disappointment Katara failed to get the job especially after the incident. In fact, she wasn't allowed to even be interviewed after the incident. So the fact that someone came to Sokka early this morning, asking to interview Katara for a job was an opportunity he would not pass up. Being the ignorant fool he was, he didn't even ask himself why the interviewer would ask for a specific person when the applicant was suppose to come to them.

She got off of her bed and opened up her closet. After choosing a random dress, she slipped out of her nightgown and slowly slid on a beautiful blue kimono. It was very much like the kimono she wore at the Earth King's party, except it was blue and was actually a 2-piece, held together securely by a silver silk belt. The designs on the dress were completely different and there were slits from her lower thigh down on both sides of her dress. Her hair flowed freely down past her shoulder, but she still had her hair loops. She slowly put on her white sandals and walked over to the mirror in the corner of the room.

In the mirror she saw a beautiful 20-year old woman staring back with piercing blue eyes. Katara sighed as she slowly pinched her stomach. She silently thought that she was too fat and had been fasting for the past few days, despite her brother's pleads for her to eat. In fact, she was too skinny, having almost no body fat. It looked as thought she was skin and bones only. Her curves had developed to that of a mature woman's, making her beauty unmatchable. Though six years of seclusion didn't help her skin, which had almost turned pale from lack of sunlight.

In fact, six years had changed Katara a lot. She no longer wanted company, instead she was more than happy to sit in her room and stare at the ceiling or sit outside under the stars. She, though she doesn't want to admit it, lost her waterbending a long time ago. Katara is not even able to perform the simplest of moves. She doesn't cook, much to Sokka's dismay, leaving it up to her brother to cook the meals and now recently she hasn't been eating. It was as though her mood dampened with every passing day.

Katara reluctantly stepped out of her room, not wanting to leave the comfort of her bed nor of her dreams.

"Come on sis! Breakfast! Then we got to go!"

Katara groaned silently, her brother was not known for being a cook.

"Actually Sokka, I'm not too hungry. I'll just go." Katara yelled while grabbing her parka and sprinted out of the igloo that she shared with her brother, hoping that Sokka wouldn't stop her. Unfortunately, before she could even step more than one foot outside, Sokka grabbed her wrists, preventing her from moving.

"Oh no you don't Katara! One, you should take a shower first. Being cooped up inside for a week doing nothing doesn't help with your smell. Two, I'm coming with you, the last time I let you go by yourself, you ran away and didn't come back until the next morning. And Three, eat your breakfast."

Katara cursed silently. It was ironic that not long ago, Katara would have said the same things to Sokka, it was as though the two had switched roles as the parental figure.

"Oh come on Sokka! I-I wouldn't run away…I-I'm not like that! Jeez, ever since Suki left to help with the spirit problem, you've been overprotective of me! And I DON'T SMELL!" Katara shouted while poking Sokka forcefully in the chest.

Sokka sighed; he was getting tired of the same arguments every day. Most of all he hated arguing with Katara, the person whom he cared for the most.

"I'm just worried about you, that's all. After the war ended you just…went flying into seclusion. I-…we all thought you would be happy that it had ended. I thought you would be happy by now at the very least. And what kills me most is that I don't know what in the world is bothering you." Sokka softly stated, while embracing her in a brother-sister hug.

Sokka could feel Katara tense up in his hands, then slowly relax into his embrace. Sokka made a mental note to give Katara more hugs, she had been deprived of human touch for almost six years. Though you couldn't really blame Sokka, between Suki and his job as ambassador, he had almost no time for his sister. That and the fact that Sokka isn't the compassionate kind of guy; he is more of the complaining, inspiring, planning guy.

_'Spirits you're an idiot…you don't even hug your own sister, yet you try to help her by making her do something she doesn't want to do?!'_ He silently berated himself.

He felt Katara shudder, the pain clear from her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry…I just can't take it anymore…I just can't go on living like this…I just hate it! I HATE it! I hate this stupid feeling in my heart! I hate this guilt!" Katara yelled, tears streamed down her face and soaked the ice below, her eyes filled with sorrow and pain. She buried her head into Sokka's chest, pouring out all of her grief in the form of tears.

"I…I hate not waking up to my best friend. I hate the decision I made to leave him behind…" Katara whispered so quietly that Sokka had to strain himself to hear it.

_'So this is what it is all about! Aang, it has to be him! Katara doesn't have any other guy best friends! When I get my…wait a second. Did she say she made the decision?!'_ Sokka thought as he hugged Katara harder as if Katara would just slip away if he let go._ 'What the hell happened to my kind, caring, energetic sister?...Well at least that would explain why Aang never came to visit.'_

"Uh…shhh…it-it's okay…d-don't worry." Sokka said hesitantly, he didn't know what else to say. He mentally raked his mind for any memory of his mother comforting him when he was hurt, but all he could come up with was memories of Katara comforting him. It hurt that he couldn't even remember his own mother, but he wasn't going to complain just yet. Katara needed him more than his already dead mother.

Sokka closed his eyes and imagined what Katara did to calm him, the words, the comforting hands, the soft-spoken whispers, and the hugs. The more he thought about it, the more he appreciated Katara and regretted that he had taken all of the care and compassion for granted. Absentmindedly, his right hand stroked Katara's cinnamon hair, his other hand ran small circles in the middle of Katara's back.

So brother and sister stood, comforting each other's regrets and pains.

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REviEW! Plz!

Oh and a special thanks to coolmac for putting up w/ my idiotic ideas in Pains of Love!


	3. The Kidnap

Author's note: sorry about the short chapter and sorry for the extended updating time, but I'm very busy with homework and other things and I'm just not feeling very motivated by all of the reviews/alerts. This is just a way to get Katara to the next place without a complex plan...though I was planning on so...it would look kind of weird to have Katara go to the interview when she didn't want to.

Another note:This chapter is just a good and smooth way to get Katara to the next destination without a lot of confusion. She is disoriented of her surroundings because of the side-effects of the sedative. I will fix up the conversation/thoughts in this scene later, but basically Katara is really confused (again by the side-effects of the sedative) and her thoughts are messed up as well as some of her hearing.

* * *

Katara didn't know how she got here or where exactly here was. In fact the only thing she knew was that she was in Earth Kingdom possession, though whether that was good news was still unknown to her.

Though it felt like she was in a ship, she was unsure…her surroundings seemed to blur together in a fury of colors with the only thing visible was the Earth Kingdom imprinted into the iron ceiling above.

It felt as if she was drugged and, in truth, she felt like crap.

Katara groaned and sat up from what seemed to be a bed. Well, at least if she was a captive, she was a well-treated captive and worth of some value. After all, why would give a worthless captive a bed and even more so, why would she still be alive. Suddenly she hear heavy footsteps echo nearer and nearer to her temporary haven. Katara gasped and quickly tried to pretend to be asleep, covering the thin sheet over her body and shutting her eyes closed tightly. Just as she had done so, the door opened with a slam and a rush of feet into the room.

Katara gulped as she heard a man sigh.

Her mind raced for the reasons he sighed. _'Did he expect me not to be here? Or does he know I'm still alive? Am I suppose to be dead?!'_

"See, I told you…she is still alive." A deep, male voice said. Katara let out an inward sigh…they wanted her alive.

'_For torture probably…'_ Her mind said. _'Do you ever stop being so negative?!'_

"Huh…yeah, but for how long. I already told you that you put too much sedative, but noo! You had to put twice as much as the others! You knew how much we need her and you saw how fragile she looks! Anyway she is suppose to be awake by now, not just lying there!" A sharp, feminine voice yelled at the man and Katara could audibly hear the woman slap the man in the back of the head.

"Aww…don't get your panties all tightened up in a bunch…she is awake, just pretending to be asleep." The man stated.

Katara's breath hitched in her throat. _'Well…so much for that plan…'_Katara thought as she braced herself from being hurt in any way.

"And how do you know that?! For all you know she could be paralyzed! After all we are using untested, unstable, unknown-"

"Okay, okay. I get your point. Jeez, I don't know why I was paired up for you on this mission. Here's the deal then, we let her be for the rest of the trip and when we land we get a medic and see if she is still alive and well. Deal?"

The woman sighed. "Well what are we going to tell the brother? It's not exactly everyday, two random people steal a person right from their arms. And you didn't even make us look good by dropping the girl."

"That isn't our job, the others will handle the brother. As for the girl, she is strong enough after all, she did face the fire lord. I think she can live through a bump on her head and a little more sedative than the others."

"Yeah, but-"

"Listen…this is the last time I will say this. She is okay…and if you are too sensitive about this then maybe you're in the wrong line of work." Katara could hear the edge on his voice, just daring the woman to argue.

"Me?! I'm not to sensitive for this! I'm just worried she won't make it."

"Don't worry, even if she dies we're probably screwed anyways. I saw the Earth Kingdom recently...and if what stories say are true, then...well I can't imagine what would happen then...Anyways let's get back to the cockpit. We will be landing soon and we need to send a hawk ahead for the medic."

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Review


	4. Author's note

Hmm...well there is good news and bad news folks...I'll give the bad news first so you feel better about the good news

Bad news: my laptop crashed and all the files are lost...and I already had a good start on the chapter

Good news: ITS 2009!! WOOOT! Oh and ty for all of the feedback for the last few chapters...

Thank you for all the reviews! I do plan on writing more so be patient and I might have it up by Monday...if my computer doesn't lag too much.

Ty for understanding...=D

BTW- I realize the last few chapters have been kind of rushed...mostly because I feel like it is one huge introduction to the main part of the story as well as to create some kind of suspense [which seems to be failing miserably]... Anyways - I've already got the basic plot set up, so I'll be able to get this chapter up and running pretty quickly.

P.S- I'm sorry that I put the author's note on The Second Chance on Life first and didn't put one on here...its not that I don't care about this story, I just happened to click on that story first and forgot to put the note on this story.

**P.S.- There is a poll that may affect the amount of updating! Well...that is if I get enough feedback! Btw - I just changed the question to a more specific option...so if this affected your answer to one you didn't want just pm me....but seriously be honest!**

Just noticed that I stopped doing that review answering thing like on The Pains of Love and I have neglected to thank you for all the reviews individually and many of you may have the same questions so....

**Pheonee**- Lol very very glad you like this story! I just felt like adding some cuss words to add to the emphasis.

**86thetomato**- I didn't mean for it to be updated every few months...unfortunately I've underestimated the power of Homework!! AAH!! I'm glad you still decided to stay with this story! Thank you for catching those errors, it is very much appreciated!!! Anyways - I really hope I don't disappoint you or the other reviewers. I really really thank you for supporting my stories! =D

**aangkatara140 **- Short, sweet, and to the point! =D Thanks for the review and the feedback. Oo..just noticed you gave two review! yay! lol

**PrettiestPyro - **I really really REALLY thank you for supporting all three of my stories!!! Especially when I'm feeling down lol. Anyways - Thanks for your input! Btw - I forget if I gave you a pm to answer your review for Second Chance at Life...ah well...I'm hoping the next chapter will answer your review.

**Derek And Okami**- Thanks for showing support in the Pains of Love and for this story as well! I'm very glad you find this story interesting.

**Torchwoodlass-arlene **- Pet?! lol...anyways- I'm glad you love it! MUHAHAHAHA! Thanks for the review!

**timisnotmyname** - I already sent you a pm. I still find it creepy...I wasn't even thinking of the council of 5 when I was writing, I was actually thinking of the Big 3. Anyways thanks for the review and I'll keep that idea in mind.

**MikeJCaboose **- Thanks for the support! Don't worry, I'm not giving up on this story anytime soon!

**.beak**- Lol glad you still like this story even though you're confused. Anyways, even though I don't really know what you're confused about I'll try and clear things up, in chapter 3, Katara was basically on drugs that made her all distortedand such. The people who "kidnapped" her were an equivalent of bounty hunters. More info in the next chapter. =D

**UzuNamikaze **- Glad you find this story interesting [a lot of people are finding this interesting....hmm....suspicious lol] Anyways thanks for the review

**Spedclass** - O.O...Thanks for the reviews. Though Idk if you like the 3rd chapter or if you're interest died on the 2nd one lol.

**Cycochics321** - Glad you like the story so far! Don't worry, like I said before, I'm not giving up on this story

**CyclonePsycho** - Lol glad you like this story! Anyways- It looks like I am going to keep this story because of the poll results so far....=P Btw - Uhh...I'm still working on the reunion part because it's really complicated and important to the story...I really really don't want to mess up this part of the story.


	5. Nightmares

Just for the record...the first part is a dream

Sorry about the late update...even though I said monday, but I wasn't able to finish it in time and I recalled the chapter to add a few more sceens into it, but anyways it's now finished.

This is the longest chapter so far...so reviews are appreciated.

This chapter is basically some background on what happened between Aang and Katara on the day of the battle.

* * *

_'She heard birds squawking frantically, trying to get away from the ever growing inferno. _

_All the elements raged around her as good battled against insanity. Most of her friends were dead...she was dying and in the end they were going to lose, she was almost certain. Their only hope was Aang...on a boy...a boy who couldn't kill if his life depended on it. _

_'There was no point to this war, just mindless violence. A stupid war to stop one madman.' Her brain told her, but despite that and the fact that her arm was throbbing and her left leg was numb, she stood up and ran towards the nearest source of water...the ocean…it was a reflex thing, after all she was a waterbender at heart even if her chi was blocked so she can't use water. But her trip was stopped short by a suddenly explosion. _

_"Aang!" Katara screamed as she saw him fly, with a huge splash, into the ocean. Without second thought, Katara ran to the shore and dived into the ocean, trying to reach Aang not caring that her whole body protested against the idea of even moving. _

_Katara wasn't stupid, she knew the Fire Lo- Phoenix King was probably watching her every move because of her antics to get to Aang, but she didn't care. All she could hear in her mind was 'Get to Aang, forget the pain and the war, just get to Aang!'_

_Katara half-growled, half-groaned out of frustration, she hated not being able to bend especially because of some stupid circus freak. Not to mention that it was extremely hard and painful to swim with a wounded arm. Slowly but surely, Katara was getting closer to where Aang floated unconsciously._

_A nagging feeling was hanging in the back of her mind, but she pushed it away as she managed to get so close to Aang that she could almost touch him. To be honest, she didn't know what she was thinking when she swam towards Aang, it was more than obvious that Katara couldn't do more than slap Aang…and she wasn't entirely sure that would help. Well…help Aang that is, it would sure help Katara with all of the anger curled up inside of her. Katara wanted nothing more than to slap Aang and **then** wake up from this horrible nightmare…that's all she wanted, for all of this to be over, she didn't even remember or care why she was angry at Aang in the first place. _

_She snapped back into reality as a huge fireball exploded just a few feet from where she was floating. Katara involuntarily yelped and covered her face with her good arm to protect he from the flames. _

_She was really starting to regret her stupid, spontaneous move to help Aang when she couldn't even help herself. _

_"Well…well…well…who do we have here?" A dark, ominous voice rang from the sky._

_Katara suddenly felt something grab her hard by the hand and violently yanked her out of the water._

_She gasped and instinctively closed her eyes, her heartbeat increasing with every passing second and her arm felt like it was being pulled out of its socket. She felt her other arm being held up together with her other arm, making it almost impossible for her to even struggle. _

_"Let her-" Aang started to say, but was interrupted by a wave of pain that over took his body. He groaned as he tried to finish his demand._

_All Katara hear in response was an almost mocking laugh and, although her eyes were still closed, she could tell the Phoenix King was smiling, enjoying Aang's pain…spirits, what she would give to smack that smile off of his face. _

_"Looks like I found someone actually worth something to you." Ozai said, mocking Aang with every word._

_"Let her go Ozai! It's between you and me only!" Aang yelled, almost pleading to Ozai._

_Katara never felt more vulnerable in her life and it scared the hell out of her. She could barely feel two tears fall down her face as her throat released an involuntary sob. Katara silently cursed herself; she didn't going to give Ozai the satisfaction of seeing her cry, but despite herself two more tears followed the first ones. Soon Katara's face was streaked with tears, she just couldn't shake off the feeling of death impending over her.__Katara could hear Ozai laughing again. She knew Aang gave what Ozai wanted to hear, to know that he was in control. _

_"No…I don't think I will. I want you to suffer through your last minutes of life. I want see your face as I torture the people you love…I want you to hear as they cry out your name and know that you can't do anything to save them…and I think I'll start with this little girl right here!" Ozai exclaimed, while gripping Katara's wrists in a death hold. _

_Katara's eyes shot open as she felt heat pressing against her skin like a branding iron. Katara started to desperately wiggle out of Ozai's grip, flailing her legs around, tears streamed freely down her face as she realized what Ozai was planning on doing. Katara let out a loud sob._

_"No! Please…Stop!" Katara begged, her hoarse voice rang out; she was already feeling her skin burning away._

_"No! STOP IT!" Aang cried out, echoing Katara's pleads. Katara saw as he desperately tried to airbend up out of the water, but was too weak to even get above the ocean._

_Katara's vision was blurred by the tears flowing from her eyes and she could scarcely feel Ozai moving up to her elbow. _

_"AANG! Please…HELP ME!" Katara yelled at the top of her lungs, knowing that her pleads to Ozai weren't getting her anywhere._

_Katara felt as Ozai shifted one of his hands onto her stomach, while the other gripped onto her hand. Katara screamed as the heat burnt at her skin with more intensity than before._

_"The Avatar can't help you! He can't even help himself!" Ozai said while laughing._

_"Aang! P-please…make it stop… …please! AANG!" Katara yelled weaker than before, her energy slowly being drained as pain erupted from her entire body, the battle was finally taking its toll on her body. _

_"Katara…Katara!" A voice yelled, surprisingly Katara didn't recognize the new voice, but she had no time to figure it out._

_"A-Aang! Iit hurts s-so much! PLEASE make it s-stop!" Katara started to see red slowly creep into her vision…and then nothing._

_"KATARA!" The voice rang out suddenly from the darkness that occupied her view. The voice echoed as if she was getting farther and farther away. She could feel nothing but coldness and could only hear the breath of a man near by._

Katara's eyes shot open, her breath was ragged and the nightmare still imprinted in her brain. All she could see was darkness…but she could hear a man breathing.

Katara screamed as she felt arms suddenly grab her sides.

"Woah! Hey…calm down…I'm not here to hurt you." A voice said, this one different from the one from the dream. Katara gasped as she sat up so quickly that she failed to notice the man looming over her, causing them to bump foreheads.

The man groaned and rubbed his forehead. "What part of I'm not here to hurt you don't you understand?"

Katara yelped out of surprise and instinctively backed away from the stranger as fast as she could until her back was pressed up against the backboard of the bed. She shut her eyes as she wished that the man would just leave her alone. She felt like a coward, but it's better to be a coward than to be tortured.

"Hey, hey…I didn't mean to scare you. Some one heard you trashing around in your bed so they sent me over. I was just trying to wake you up…don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." The man said, though Katara was still trembling with her eyes closed. The man sighed, he obviously didn't want to intentionally scare her and he most certainly didn't want to make her cry.

"Listen-" The man began, reaching out to hold onto Katara's hand. Katara flinched under his touch and pulled back once again, this time with her head resting on her knees.

"P-please…just leave me alone." Katara sobbed out, her voice laced with fear. The dream had brought unwanted memories and emotions back and it wasn't helping that a total stranger was sitting in the same bed as hers.

The man sighed again, this wasn't the way he expected things to happen. Knowing that Katara wasn't going to believe him, he stood up and walked to the door but paused before opening it.

"Oh and by the way, the captain wants to tell you to get ready for landing. You are going to meet with the Earth king in a few minutes…so do whatever you need to do to get ready." With that, the man slammed the door shut behind him.

Katara let out the breath that she didn't realize she was keeping and her muscles started to relax again. To calm herself, Katara started to take deep breaths of air and sat in the meditating stance taught so long ago by Aang.

_'Why does the Earth King want to see me? Oh gods…don't tell me he found out about…no…that's impossible'_ Katara thought as she finally started to really calm down and opened her eyes to survey her surroundings.

As she looked around, she realized two important things. One, this wasn't a prison cell so she could escape anytime she wanted to and two, it was a really, **really** luxurious room. Even with the lights off, she could make out a huge queen size bed with the Earth kingdom symbol embedded on the blanket, a huge closet full of who knows what, a door which seemed to lead to a bathroom, a desk for working across the room, and a floor-length mirror right next to the desk.

She hesitantly crawled off of the bed and walked over to the door, which she assumed led to the bathroom. Katara gaped at the sight, inside was a spa big enough for at least five people.

Katara thought out the situation and something in the back of her mind was nagging her, but she shrugged it off. _'If I'm going to see the Earth King, I might as well look nice and not smell like crap.'_

On that pleasant note, she shed her clothes and stepped into the spa, more than happy to wash away the memories of the battle that still clung to her mind. For the first time in six years, Katara was finally ready to forget about the past and move on to the future.

--

Katara stepped out of the bathroom with her wet hair tied in a sloppy ponytail and a smile on her face. She had to admit, the shower helped calm her nerves and she never felt better in six years. Her face seemed to have regained its natural color and glow.

She hummed softly to herself as she made her way to the bed, obviously wanting to rest a bit more before her destination...where ever her destination was. Though as she started to lie down, Katara heard a paper crumple underneath her. Curiously, Katara reached underneath her and pulled out a crumple piece of paper.

Scribbled on the piece of paper was:

_Dear Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, _

_Sorry about the unconventional method of getting you over to the Earth Kingdom, but I assure you it is of utmost importance. There has been a series of murders, I can't say too much, but we need your help. The Earth king will debrief you and so I must ask for you to change to more appropriate clothes in order for you to meet the Earth King. The new clothes are in the closet._

Katara frowned…they were trying to control her! She angrily crumpled the letter and threw it across the room. She wasn't going to change just to meet some stupid Earth King; after all she was being forced to meet him anyways.

Katara strutted over to the mirror, her anger visible through her piercing eyes. _'What the hell is wrong about my clothes?! Gods...I shouldn't have showered, if only I knew that they were trying to use me…I'm not going to "pretty myself up" just to meet some pompous king.'_

She was wearing her typical water tribe clothes; the only difference was that it was a two-piece, held together with a silk, silver belt. Well...that and it was a lot more elegant than her old clothes, the ones that she wore during the battle was damaged beyond repair and so her grandmother sewed up a new one made out of silk and so more comfortable.

She definitely wasn't going to give up a gift from her grandmother just because some strangers told her to and she definitely wasn't going to go meet the Earth King without some of her own questions be answered.

With that, Katara sat down on the bed with her eyes glued on the door, her head tilted up in defiance and a smile plastered on her face. She wasn't going to let anyone sneak up on her again.

---

Katara couldn't believe it…here she was, walking towards the Earth King's palace like a "good little girl" with none of her questions answered. She still couldn't believe how fast the man came into the room and practically dragged her out.

_'You're pathetic…you even were facing the door! You're losing your edge.'_ Her mind taunted, while her eyes were scanning the four guards surrounding her. Katara mentally smacked herself, if she had her waterbending it would be just too easy to escape.

Katara sighed, today was going to be a long day. _'Well…at least they weren't forcing me to go in chains. That and they didn't make me change to those "appropriate clothes"'_ She shuddered, if they called those clothes appropriate, she dreaded what inappropriate clothes were to those people.

Out of curiosity, Katara had looked in the closet and was horrified at the sight. It was a blue, silk kimono, much like what she was wearing at the time. In fact it was a lot more elegant, with complex designs tracing all over the dress and at first sight it was very beautiful. Though to her dismay, as she started to see more clearly, she saw that the the dress had a cleavage that left almost no imagination and the length of the dress stopped at what seemed to be mid-thigh. She almost tore the dress in two, who did these people think she was?

She had never seen such a…sluttish dress in her life! It was as though these people wanted her to seduce the king. Katara almost retched at the thought, she was definitely starting to regret not running away at every possible chance she had when they had landed. Now there was no way she could escape with the Earth King's palace towering over her and the palace guards surrounding them.

_'Please don't be attracted to me, please don't be a pervert, please PLEASE let this all be a dream !' _Katara thought over and over again as the guards slowly opened the palace gates.

Katara's brain finally came to a decision. Once she stepped into the palace, she was going to make a break for it, guards or not. She didn't know where she was going to escape to, as long as it was away from the king…away from this ever growing nightmare.

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Review


	6. Old Friends, New Beginnings

BTW- I'm very very sorry but I didn't really have time to develop deep into the actual plot, but I have started the plot though...so yay!

I'm probably going to update this chapter so it has more of the plot, but for now...it's late and I need to sleep.

PLZ PLZ check this chapter...I'm pretty sure I messed up something big in here...but I'm too tired to think

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'_This is it…it's the perfect time to run, the guards aren't even looking at me!' _Katara thought as they slowed down to a halt in front of the throne room, she had decided not to run earlier due to the hundreds of palace guards surrounding her. Though now that hey had actually entered the palace, the number has decreased to the original four and, true to her word, the guards had turned their attention to the massive throne room doors as if they were waiting for something. They seemed content staring at the dragon-like design carved into the doors, specifically their eyes, which was in the form of two dull rubies.

Well, she wasn't going to wait for...well...what ever it was they were waiting for, she thought as her muscles tensed to sprint in the other direction at any second. She had already calculated in her head where to go and when before when they were walking down the hall, all she had to do was wait for the right moment.

One of the guards, whom Katara assumed was the leader, finally made a move. He raised his hand towards the handles as if to try and pull the gigantic doors open, which was impossible considering the door was twice the size of Appa and made out of metal. Instead, to Katara's surprise, he put his hand over the mouth of the dragon and blew fire into it.

Katara involuntarily gasped as the dragon's eyes began to glow, she knew from experience that glowing eyes could be really really good or really really bad. Instantly, her thoughts drifted to a certain avatar and the many instances the avatar state got her out of trouble...while destroying everything in its path.

She shook her head as she started to hear a low rumble; this wasn't the time to dream. She could faintly see a glow as the doors started to slowly open. The edge of her lips tugged upwards into a small smirk, _perfect_.

"Well…here we are…now I kno- SHIT! WHO WAS SUPPOSE TO WATCH HER?!" The leader began, but stopped when he turned and saw a fading figure of Katara sprinting down the hall they entered by. The three other guards stared at each other, oblivious to who was actually assigned to watch the girl.

"Forget it! Just follow her!" The guard commanded, his face redder than a beet from anger and with that the guards ran after the sound of the footsteps.

Katara, sadly she thought, hasn't felt more alive in six years. The thrill of escaping sparked her blood, adrenaline running through her and her breath in short, quick gasps. Exhilarating as it was, she knew it wasn't some game with the stakes if caught were higher and so she had to play dirty.

'_Oh-no'_ Katara thought sarcastically, though her mind was racing for the possible ways to shake of her chasers.

Katara half-growled, half-groan, this was probably the worst day to wear sandals. They were killing her feet, so she did what every practical girl running from four guards would do. She paused running for a second to kick of her sandals and with that continued running till she was met with another decision.

In front of her, the corridor split off into two directions, one possibly leading to freedom…or of course they could be both dead ends. Katara shook her head, trying to rid the tendrils of despair from her mind as she ran down the right hall.

Almost immediately, she was met with a door…a door leading to who knows what. Without hesitation, Katara yanked the door open and ran inside. With a loud "UMPH", Katara ran into a stranger so hard that it knocked them both over. Yet in that small amount of time, she figured out that one she had run into another male firebender and two she had just stepped into a cafeteria full of people. _Oops. _But before Katara could get off of him, he already had a firm grasp on her wrists, obviously trying to get a better look at Katara.

So she did the only thing she could do at the time, kick the stranger as hard as she could in the groin an, to be honest, it felt great taking out her anger. Though the same couldn't be said to the stranger, as he finally let go of Katara and groaned in pain.

Though before she could even stand up, a half-dozen guards had already pulled her to her feet and restrained her, while two other guards were helping the man up. Katara was tempted to spit in the man's face, he deserved that and more for preventing her escape…that was until she actually got a good look of his face.

"ZUKO?!" Katara exclaimed, a hundred questions were running through her mind, but all that came out was, " What are you doing here?!"

Zuko's face was still twisted up in pain, though a small smile flickered on his lips.

"Nice to see you too." Zuko managed to groan out.

---

Zuko sighed as he heard the doors slam shut, indicating that Katara had left.

It was unnerving how much she had changed, though then again everyone had changed after the war. Yet…Katara had changed the most out of them, her face lost its innocent, hopeful glow and her eyes dulled to an indifferent, lifeless stare. Zuko unwillingly shivered, it was like having one of those creepy statues you would find in a museum stare at you for an hour. It was so intimidating and scary at the same time that Zuko had no doubt that he had made the right decision to send Katara on this mission.

At first he was a bit uneasy about this whole plan, but with each passing day, each missing person, each new reason his resolve began to fall until he finally gave in. Nonetheless Zuko couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt, a feeling that he was sending Katara to her death.

Her last words still ringing through his head. _'Don't you get it?! I can't waterbend, I can't fight…I've never felt so…so…empty…so lost'_ Katara had said, it looked as though she was on the verge of tears and, to be honest, she never looked so helpless. Zuko had never ever seen Katara more helpless…no…hopeless than that exact moment. He ran a hand through his hair out of frustration; his newfound conscience was starting to be a real pain.

'_It's too late now…and I'm positive her partner will protect her.'_ With that Zuko stood from his chair and walked to the center of the room.

"I've done everything you've asked." Zuko yelled, as if talking to himself.

Out of the shadows, a figure appeared, though his or her face was masked and his or her body was covered with a large, loose robe.

"Good, good. As I said Zuko, you have nothing to worry about…I will ensure that Katara isn't hurt."

Zuko nodded, but the figure hadn't filled the other half of the deal…

"I've held up my half of the deal..."

"You mean your dear father was wrong?"

"Enough games! WHERE IS MY MOTHER!"

---

After about twenty apologies and one long conversation, a very shame-faced, guilty-stricken Katara was now weaving her way through the streets of Ba Sing Se. AND she finally found out why she was kidnapped…something to do with spirit problems. Her mind wandered to Suko, _Why didn't they call her?_ She had a lot more experience than Katara and more useful than her especially because of her…disability.

Katara shuddered at the word, she absolutely hated that wretched word, it reminded her of those old people who need a wheelchair to get around, but at least it sounded better than…helpless.

She sighed as she opened the parchment, which held the address she was suppose to meet her "partner" at. Katara was so furious that Zuko even thought of giving her a partner, she wasn't THAT helpless. She didn't need someone to hold her hand and she definitely didn't need someone protecting her. Katara cast a piercing gaze at the two guards following her…it wasn't as though she was going to run again. Not with that stupid speech on how "you're turning your back on the people who need your help".

She had heard the term "the walk of shame" before, but this was ridiculous. Her cheeks were scorching red, her temper was unbearable, and she had a really strong need to hit something all while keeping her head low as if to hid her embarrassment of being guarded. Just when she was finally ready to be happy and go on with her life…

Katara's eyes widened when she realized where the address led to…a pub. She mentally reminded herself to smack Zuko on the head the next she sees him. When an address leads to a bar it could only mean two things…one her partner spends a lot of time in a bar and two her partner was an alcoholic. Neither of them sounded appealing, who in their right mind would spend all their time in this dump.

Katara's mind was weight her options, her hands on her hips and a fierce look in her eyes. _'I could either go in there and hope my partner is drinking water or run away again…hmm…confront or run'_

Katara sighed, her shoulders slumped in defeat, she really hated when her conscience got the better of her. Grudgingly, Katara opened the pub doors and immediately regretted not running. Inside was probably the loudest, rowdiest group of people Katara had ever seen. There must have been at least fifty of them, all men except for the bartender who was a middle-aged women. _'Great, no women here…'_

Katara looked back hesitantly to her guards, how was she suppose to find her partner…they all looked the same with toughened looks, tattoos everywhere, and beer in their hands. It looked like something she would read in a book and, to make matters worse, she could have sworn half of the people in the bar had turned around to stare at her. She was really glad that she hadn't worn the clothes that her kidnappers insisted for her to wear. She once again looked at her guards, one of them nudged his head towards the actual bar…all she could see was a man hunched over, speaking rapidly with the bartender and, Katara thanked the spirits, with a non-alcoholic drink. Actually, to be more specific, it was the same drink she had got in the desert, when they first met the professor from Ba Sing Se and planned their "mini-vacations".

'_Who knows…maybe he's friendly._' Katara thought as she dodged the multiple people to make her way to her partner. More than once, she had to shove people out of her way, who seemed more than happy to stand there gawking at her and more than once she had to duck to avoid the fights surrounding her. And, to her dismay, people from all over the room were shouting things like "Hey babe, let me buy you a drink" or "let's go back to my place" or something horribly cheesy like that.

But finally she made it to the bar, she had already planned out exactly what to say. Something along the lines of _"Hi I'm your partner, if you don't like that then too bad. I was forced to do this so let's get this over with as soon as possible. I can't waterbend anymore, but I can still fight. If you're some sexist pig who thinks I can't help, then bring that up with Zuko because honestly I don't want to be here right now. Maybe that will save us both some trouble._" All with a smug smile and a defiant stance. She was prepared for anything the man would say back, this time she made sure that nothing would surprise her.

Well now that she was getting closer, she could see the stranger was actually very…well good looking though at the same time very intimidating. It was as though his face was cut out of stone and his face was fixed in a never-ending serious look.

'_Well…on the downside he sure doesn't look like a barrel of fun…but on the upside, at least that means we can finish this as fast as possible without even talking.'_ Katara thought as she reached over to tap his shoulder.

"I've been expecting you, though you're five minutes late." The man said, his voice was deep and full of command and confidence, yet behind it Katara could hear a bit strain on his voice…as though he…

"Oh crap, crap, crap. This isn't happening." Katara told herself, though her voice reached the man's ear and he too recognized who his partner was.

"K-katara?!" The man exclaimed, almost falling out of his seat from the surprise of seeing her again. If Katara hadn't been scared out of her wits, if this had been a normal situation, she would have laughed but all she could do was stutter out an unwitting "Uh". Out of all the partners, all of the people in the world, they had to choose HIM. Though, in retrospect, she should had expected this…not only was he an expert in the field, but she should have realized that who ever was in control of this mission wanted to do anything to make her miserable and uncomfortable. And spirits, was she uncomfortable right now, a ton of emotions stirred within her. Half of her wanted to slap him, the other half wanted to cry and hug him. Yet…there she was, standing there like an idiot with her mouth wide open. Of course she was happy, no, overwhelmingly ecstatic to see him…though she knew the feeling wasn't mutual, she was absolutely sure he hated her very guts.

**(A/N: P.S.- if you haven't figured who her partner is by now…I will seriously cry)**

So…she took the only option open to her…run away. Sadly, that was something Katara has come to rely on, running away from her problems, from her feelings, from the person she loves most.

Call it karma, call it fate, but once again the guards stopped her before she even got to the door and this time they dragged her back to the bar with Katara struggling with all her might. Back to a surprisingly composed partner, who seemed as though he had expected her to run.

"Let Me Go!" Katara exclaimed between grunts as she tried to twist her way out of their grip. Though the guards only let go when they practically threw her onto the stool next to her partner. With an indignant huff, she quietly composed herself and sat on the stool, her head facing downwards to hide her embarrassment. She could almost feel the heated gaze of her partner staring into her skin…not to mention almost everyone else in the room. In fact, everyone had stopped talking to stare at the now red-faced Katara.

Katara mentally groaned, all wanted to do was lie down on her bed and cry herself to sleep after today's events. Though she also mentally noted to make sure Zuko couldn't breathe when she sees him again. After what seemed to be an eternity, the pub started to fill with tentative conversations until it was as loud as before. Only then did Katara raise her head, though she didn't turn to face her partner.

"I…I can't waterbend. I don't think I could be a lot of help to the Avatar himself." Katara said, in a voice no higher than a whisper, feeling like the worst type of hypocrite there was. Though Aang acted as if Katara hadn't spoken.

" I'm assuming you will be staying with me then." Aang stated simply, though Katara was blushing furiously at these nine words.

"Well…I…I…err no!" Katara stammered out.

"Then were are you going to stay…where are you going to get some money?" Aang stated, his eyebrows rose as if stating the obvious.

"I…I…ugh! Fine…where do you live?" Katara asked, her resistance was slowly breaking down. It wasn't as though she didn't want to work with Aang, but at the very least she could have been saved the awkward moments of actually living with Aang.

"Follow me." Aang simply stated, though Katara could tell by his voice that he was not happy about the situation either, as he took out a bag of coins, laid it on the counter and walked at a neck-break pace to the door.

'_Well…that went really great.'_ Katara thought sarcastically as she stared in the direction that Aang had left, trying to hold back the tears. She didn't think Aang would be overjoyed that she was his partner, but she didn't expect Aang to act like she was a stranger. For some odd reason, Katara couldn't help but feel betrayed by Aang, by her dreams, by hope.

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WOOT! BEAT MY LAST CHAPTER BY...er...BY SOME AMOUNT THAT I'M TOO LAZY TO FIGURE OUT!

Review!


	7. Mistakes and Misunderstandings

Sorry for the very long update, but I actually was getting some feedback from a reviewer and with him, I was able to make an amazing chapter [I hope =P]. I was also inspired by him so...THANK HIM!!

**This chapter is dedicated to: ****Kataangboy17** **for enduring my constant pms and motivating me!!! As well as checking over this chapter!**

**BTW- I kind of changed the ending a bit around, didn't really liked how the chapter ended. Also I really really don't feel like many people actually liked this chapter...and so I'll probably be spending more time on another story I'm creating and school.**

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Katara practically bursted out of the pub, searching frantically for any sign of Aang. To her dismay, all she saw were empty streets.

"This way." Aang stated, abandoning his position besides the pub's entrance and walked through the empty streets. Katara let out an involuntary yelp, surprised that Aang had actually waited for her after the way he had rushed out like the building was on fire.

Katara's mind was almost exploding from the amount of questions she had. _'Should I talk?…Does he want me to talk? Should I say that I'm sorry, that I over reacted? That I missed you and I've been thinking and pining over you every single waking moment and in my dreams?'_

'_Yeah, great Katara, go ahead and creep him out. Oh and you might want to also mention what exactly are in those dreams of yours. It's obvious he doesn't want anything to do with you and I doubt sorry isn't going to make up for six years' _Her mind argued

'_Well…it really wasn't my fault that I got so angry that I stormed off!'_

'_You let your emotions get the better of you and now you are paying the price.'_

Finally, Katara couldn't stand the awkward silence anymore.

"Er…nice weather we're having today." Katara instantively covered her mouth, but it was too late. Honestly, she couldn't have picked a duller topic. She braced herself for some mocking or jokes about her conversation skills, but instead she got nothing. Absolutely nothing, not even a chuckle, just silence. And for the first time, she wondered just how much he had changed…she wondered how much she had changed.

The silence was starting to make Katara nervous. Even at the South Pole, there was always some noise whether it be children playing or Sokka yelling at her. Maybe she could find some common ground…maybe they could start anew.

"So…is this your job?" Katara tried to say nonchalantly, but her anxiety was as clear as daylight. In an effort to make sure she had his attention, Katara ran in front of Aang and turned around so she was facing him and started walking backwards. "You know…taking down bad guys…fighting spirits…getting random partneeer-AHH!" Katara yelled, tripping over.

But before she could hit the ground, she felt a strong hand grab her by the wrist and pulled her back to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Aang asked, surprising Katara when he still held onto her wrist.

"Umm…y-yeah. Thanks." Katara said, wishing the ground would just swallow her up. She couldn't believe how clumsy she was! Well…that and the fact that Aang had moved his hand so he was holding her hand now.

"So…what is or…was your job?" Katara asked, partly out of wanting to keep the conversation going, but she was also insanely curious. She wanted to catch up on all those years she had missed. And maybe…just maybe Aang didn't have another job ecause he was too heartbroken to do anything either…like she was. But no…he probably hadn't thought twice about her…he probably moved on with his life, no he already moved on after she was recovering from the final battle.

Memories of the night, the night she left Aang, the night she got out of the hospital, the night she had lost everything and her world fell apart piece by piece.

--Flashback--

It was the day she had been finally released from that horribly depressing hospital. The healers couldn't heal the burn completely due to the fact that it burnt through the skin and instead had to stitch most of Katara's legs up and wait for them to heal together to a certain point before they released Katara.

"Dad!" Katara whined. "I'm absolutely fine, the healers all said that I could leave!"

"They also said that you needed about a months worth of rest before you can even run."

"Thank you Sokka." Katara said, rolling her eyes. "But I really want to see Aang, you know how he always thinks these things are his fault. I mean honestly, he would visit me everyday and apologize. Which was sweet at first, but then it just got a bit annoying explaining it over and over again that it wasn't his fault."

"Katara…maybe you're better off without Aang." Hakoda said, carefully planning out every word. "I mean look what happened to you just because you were with him!' To prove his point, he grabbed Katara's wrist and pulled at her sleeve, revealing a number of large, blotchy burn marks scattered all over her arm.

"How can you say that?! After all he has done for the world?! After he saved my life?!"

"Your life wouldn't need saving if he hadn't put you in danger in the first place!"

"Listen…Dad." Katara said in almost a whisper, it was finally time to tell her father and the rest of the group and to be honest she had to say it for herself as well. "I-I don't expect you to understand, but I-I don't care about the scars…I barely care that I lost my waterbending, but I-I need Aang. I can't live without him…I'd DIE for him. And the fact is…well I-I'm in love with Aang."

She had expected yelling for keeping it a secret or even, she hoped, congratulations or words of advice, but she was met with silence. Silence and a cold, hard stare from her father; not a good combination. Though, to her relief, she could tell from the corner of her eye that Sokka was on her side.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity with the tension burning within the room. Hakoda broke the silence with a simple "No."

"W-what?!" Katara asked, obviously taken back.

"I may have failed your mother, but I will not fail you. Can't you see Katara, he will be the death of you! You almost died and for what, he probably doesn't even love you."

Katara was fuming, she knew her father wouldn't understand.

"You're wrong! He does love me! And if you don't like that, then too bad." With that , she stormed out of the hospital, but before she could get too far, her father yelled after her.

"If you leave…If you leave your own family for that boy, I-I'll disown you!" But Katara kept plowing on, though tears started well up within her. Was this really worth it? She hoped so, because she was about to give everything up for Aang. Yet her father's words still rung inside her head, like angry bees flying everywhere.

"Of all the ridiculous…stupid arguments, it had to be about my love life!" Katara muttered, still walking towards…well she really didn't know where she was heading. Just away from her infuriating father.

She could faintly hear footsteps running after her, she was about to start running herself until she heard who it was, Sokka.

"Katara wait up!' Sokka called after her, though Katara didn't slow down at all.

"If you're trying to-" Katara began.

"No, no…Dad was wrong to control whom you love…I'm just here to say tha tI'm still here for you. If you need any help that is, we're still a family. Just wait for Dad to cool off and everything will be back to normal. Though I have to leave for home in about a week, so…yeah."

"Wow…that was very…mature of you Sokka." Katara said, very surprised with Sokka taking her side over their father's.

"Thanks…I think."

----

Katara racked her brain for the address Sokka had given her; where Aang was suppose to be. _'This can't be right.'_ She thought, looking up at what seemed to be a nightclub, like the ones you see the bad guys hang out in those ridiculous plays that go on throughout the theaters. She could practically feel the music pulsing against her skin, she could hardly imagine how anyone within three feet of the nightclub couldn't lose their hearing in a matter of minutes. Much less what her Aang was doing in such a place.

Well…then again everyone had changed after the war. Her farther was more protective and, in her opinion, pigheaded, Suki was taking up a job as a healer, and Sokka had taken up cooking. Really, Sokka and cooking aren't suppose to go together, her brother was suppose to be the stare-in-the-mirror-at-the-invisible-muscles type of guy, but then again…he wasn't that great of a cook anyways. She always had to be the guinea pig for all his newest concoctions and it was NOT pleasant especially when she was still recovering and her senses were just starting up.

Though she couldn't help but think just how much Aang could have changed, while she was recovering. Would Aang still be the man she fell in love with? Would she still be be the woman Aang fell in love with? Katara immediately pushed both doubts out of her mind as she hesitantly opened the door of the nightclub.

"Aang will always be the man…I…" Katara's words died down in her throat at the sight before her, a sight that would haunt her dreams and torture her thoughts every single day. One lone tear slid down her cheek and hit the wooden floor with a plop. Then another and another and soon tears were flowing freely down her face. The scene was just too much, too much for her heart and she could literally feel her heart slowly dying. Katara's legs couldn't support her anymore and she fell to her knees, her vision was blurred by tears, but she could still see the scene before.

There right in front of her, as if taunting her, was Aang…kissing another girl. His back pressed up against a wall, while the girl looked as it seemed as if she was practically attacking Aang, with her fist clenching his shirt. The girl…the girl was what irritated Katara the most…the fact that she was beautiful and probably rich. Both traits that Katara didn't have.

She felt like the biggest fool in the world. _Of course who would want to be in love with a crippled person_, Katara thought. (A/N- this is not meant to be an offense towards any disabled person, just saying before some people sends flames at me). Katara could barely walk without severe pain and she could forget about run for even a short period of time without breaking the stitches.

Katara never felt more alone…more betrayed in her life. She knew she should feel angry, she knew she should walk up to Aang and slap the bastard into the next century, but instead she felt weak and afraid. All of her emotions were mixed up, Katara couldn't just feel one emotion nor could she distinguish them.

So Katara took the only option open to her, run away, run to the only person who still cared for her…Sokka. She could feel the stitches falling apart by the thread as she sprinted towards the docks that Sokka said he would be, but she didn't care not even when she felt blood flow down her leg. Nothing was going to stop her from hiding…from running away from her problems.

---

The next day, Sokka, without asking questions, headed home with Katara. There she spent about first six months, give or take, crying in her bed before she realized something. She HADN'T lied when she said that she needed Aang, with every day that passes, Katara felt as if something was missing from her. Not just Aang as her lover, but Aang as her source of hope, freedom, and adventure. Something that wouldn't go away no matter how much she convinced herself how much she hated Aang, no matter if she burnt all two hundred sixty-five letters that Aang sent without reading a single one.

Finally, Katara caved in to that something…she hadn't realized how addictive even Aang's presence was.

'_Anyways…Aang never actually SAID that he loved me... What if I was his source of relieving the stress of the war?'_ Katara reasoned, at least if she couldn't forgive Aang, she could forget the whole damn thing and start over…maybe she could be with Aang again.

She felt like a child, clinging to Aang like a security blanket…but she couldn't help it. Yet at the same time, she couldn't just go back to Aang like nothing happened…if Aang still cared for her…missed her even…he would come to her. Well, at least Katara hoped so…

Yet looking back on the event, which isn't as hard as one would think since she was pretty much forced every time she fell asleep, some thing about the situation felt too surreal…too fake. She couldn't explain it, but something inside her told her that Aang wasn't himself at the time…like he didn't know what he was doing…or at least Katara imagined it that way.

--End Flashback--

'Well…I'm here now, I CAME to him instead of the other way and now I KNOW he doesn't miss me at all...does he?' Katara looked up towards Aang, was he too thinking about what had happened?

Katara's thoughts were interrupted by Aang's voice.

"Er you okay?" Aang asked.

"Uhm…y-y-yes. Why did you ask?"

"Well…you kind of blanked out for a few minutes."

"Oh…" Katara blushed, hoping Aang couldn't tell what she was thinking about. He would probably dismiss her crazy notion in a second…wouldn't he?

In fact he was thinking about the night his world fell apart.

--Flashback--

The words of Hakoda echoed through his brain. _'Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you were able to defeat the Fire Lord, but…I can not allow my daughter to be friends with you any more. You are a danger to her, look where she is right now because of you! Just because she tried to help you! She almost DIED…thanks the spirits for saving her._

"_But sir!" Aang tried to argue._

"_No!…I made a promise to her mother that I would do everything to protect her from any danger…dangers like you. And if I see you with my daughter again I will not hesitate to treat you as an enemy and do everything within my own power to defend my family."_

Aang everything to convince Hakoda otherwise, from displays of his immense power to showing his skills as a diplomat and defeating the numerous "freedom fighters" who claimed to fight in the name of the ex-Fire Lord. All that got him was a nasty welt on his forearm…so here he was, on the day that Katara was suppose to be released from the hospital, walking into a nightclub to drown his problems away. Sure he was a monk, but even they are human…they get to a point in there lives where they had to drink to solve problems at least once. Well…maybe not but Aang's mind was so clouded that he had no other solution to the misery he had, plus he had heard alcohol gave a wonderful "buzz". He just hoped that the buzz wasn't because the drink secretly held scorpionbees in it…

Aang hesitantly sat down on the bar thinking of a way to get around to Katara when his thoughts were interrupted by a middle-aged woman.

"What can I get you?" The woman said curtly.

"Er…" Aang stuttered, not know what to order when he had never drank alcohol before, but hey if he was going to start a new habit might as well go big. "I'll take the strongest drink you have."

---

Aang had to admit, drink was absolutely HORRID! What in the world was he thinking?! He couldn't even think straight, he had thrown up about five times, he had blacked out about twice and now he was being subjected to a fangirl's constant complimenting. He couldn't even understand what the girl was saying! He silently cursed himself for being so courteous, if it was up to him, he would just tell the girl to shut up and go home. But no…he had to be the nice guy…plus it would probably cause the girl to cry and that was the last thing he needed, especially not when he was drunk. All Aang could do was nod his head and pretend to listen.

Suddenly, the girl literally jumped him and pushed him against the wall! The next thing he knows, the girl is kissing him! WHAT THE HECK?! Although Aang might be so intoxicated that he could confuse Iroh with Hakoda, but he wasn't so intoxicated that he would ever forget Katara. No amount of alcohol would ever make him forget his love for Katara, but he was intoxicated enough for his brain not to register what to do. Just as his brain had finally registered that Aang HAD to push the crazy girl away, he could slowly see black spots appearing before his vision. Today wasn't his day at all…but just as he was blacking out, he could have sworn he saw Katara…crying on the floor.

"_NO! IT WASN'T MY FAULT! KATARA!_" The words rang through his head…the same ones that rang after he had found Katara, skin half burnt through and almost dead on the cold ground. Until he finally black out.

---

A few hours later, Aang would wake up in his home…not knowing if Katara had actually been there or if he was drunk.

Yet…as the days passed by, Aang tried to search the city for Katara, but saw no sign of her. So, he reasoned that Katara would be at the South Pole somewhere…probably with Sokka since he disappeared as well and sent over one hundred letters asking where Katara was, why she had left, and so on. But none of them were being returned. With each passing day, Aang became more desperate, searching all parts of the globe because he believed that Katara would at least send the letters back if she was at the South Pole, but it was to no avail. Every day, he lost more and more hope, happiness, and joy. Aang knew it was hopeless to try and move on, he needed Katara.

Soon…he just gave up hope…gave up living and sat at home, wondering what was Katara doing right now…and had all this happened because of some stupid mistake? Some stupid misunderstanding?

A few years after Katara had left, Zuko had come up to Aang and offered him a job…a chance to help people and well…Aang was basically forced into the job.

--End Flashback—

_'But now…now I have a second chance…or at least a chance to start over. It…it is hard to see Katara, to know that a person could cause me so much grief and pain, yet bring me the utmost joy and happiness at the same time…But she probably thinks of me as a jerk and a cheater. I mean my…my actions haven't shown her exactly that I even know that she exists…but then again…it's hard to act normal when she left me! When her own FATHER was breaking us up! Was that why she left? Because her father said so?! Or did she see the incident at the bar? Am I ready to open my heart again, when there is a huge possibility for it to be shut down?_

_'I wish...I wish Monk Gyatso was here to help me...I wish Toph was here to help me....'_

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PLZ PLZ PLZ REVIEW


	8. Author's Note and Apology

Hey people, sorry for not saying anything for a very very very long time, but I've got really busy with volunteering and an intern job at a hospital. No...I don't have another update up or ready. This is basically what I have written down:

"For a few minutes, the two walked through the empty streets in silence, both lost in their own thoughts and dreams. Though Aang couldn't help but look over to Katara ever so often. After all, Aang hadn't seen her in years.

Katara tried to pretend not to notice Aang's blatant staring as best she could-"

Mostly due to the fact that I'm busy as hell, but also due to the fact that I have massive writer's block and lack of concentration, I will probably not have another update any time soon. That and my parents are practically watching my every move...and think it is foolish to waste time on fan fictions/short stories.

Anyways--I might get an update done before September, I might not. BUT I want to thank everyone for reviewing and being patient, if you decide to not read this story any more I understand.


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